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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27278368">Better</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/November_Clouds/pseuds/November_Clouds'>November_Clouds</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>sorrow, pain, and loss (whumptober 2020) [21]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, Hinata Shouyou Being an Idiot, Ignoring an Injury, Injury, Whump, Whumptober, Whumptober 2020, athletes listen up: do not do this, but like thats a given, he plays through his injury and that's NOT OKAY, kagehina if you squint, no. 30, what do i pUt: spoopy edition</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 16:22:05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>928</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27278368</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/November_Clouds/pseuds/November_Clouds</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p></p><blockquote>
  <p>As he dropped down from the spike, his foot twisted in the air, and it snapped sideways as he made contact with the ground. He let out a sharp exhale as pain spiked through his ankle. As he took a shaky step forward, his foot throbbed in agony. <i>There’s no way I can play like this.</i><br/></p>
</blockquote>day 30: ignoring an injury
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hinata Shouyou &amp; Kageyama Tobio, Hinata Shouyou &amp; Karasuno Volleyball Club</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>sorrow, pain, and loss (whumptober 2020) [21]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1924213</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>61</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Whumptober 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Better</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>tw for semi-graphic (really not that bad) description of bruise/broken ankle</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hinata knew from the second he landed that something was wrong. As he dropped down from the spike, his foot twisted in the air, and it snapped sideways as he made contact with the ground. He let out a sharp exhale as pain spiked through his ankle. As he took a shaky step forward, his foot throbbed in agony. <em> There’s no way I can play like this. </em></p><p>He looked up from his foot to glance at the scoreboard. 15-11. His spike had gotten them another point, but they were still lagging behind by four. He looked back at his teammates and saw they were fired up, ready to go. “Nice kill, Hinata!” Tanaka yelled to him, clapping his hands together. “We’ll get them!” As Tanaka widened his stance and held his arms to prepare for a receive, Hinata realized something.</p><p>If he left the game now, there was a chance they would lose.</p><p>He knew, of course, that there were five other players on the court. He wasn’t the strongest player on the team by any means, and it wouldn’t be much of a problem to find someone to switch out with him. </p><p>But he was the only one who could do the freak quicks with Kageyama. He was the one other teams marked, <em> he </em> was the one they relied on to be the ultimate decoy. If Hinata left the game, there was no telling what would happen.</p><p>There was no way Hinata would let Karasuno be called the flightless crows ever again.</p><p><em> Once we catch up, </em> he thought, <em> I’ll switch out. No big deal, right? </em></p><p>
  <em> Right? </em>
</p><p>Hinata took a few steps back, getting into position while trying to ignore the sting coming from his foot. Across the net, the other team served, the ball flying across the court. It headed straight for Hinata, and without thinking, he lunged forward to receive it, hitting it in Kageyama’s direction. He hissed, as his ankle shook with pain. He could feel it starting to swell up, little by little, but he pushed the agony out of his mind. Kageyama had tossed the ball to Tanaka, who slammed the ball onto the court, gaining them another point. <em> We’re only three points behind now, </em> he thought to himself. <em> Everyone else seems to be doing okay. I could probably switch out now. </em> He glanced down quickly. <em> My leg is killing me… </em></p><p>He snapped himself out of his thoughts. <em> No! Don’t be selfish! We have to win this! </em></p><p>Hinata shook himself out of his head and turned his focus back to the game. <em> Just three more points… </em></p><p>The game passed by at an agonizingly slow pace, his leg twinging every time Hinata so much as breathed. Whenever they would gain more points than the other team, he considered going to the bench, but every time, he managed to talk himself out of it. <em> One more. Come on, one more. </em></p><p>By the time the game came to a close <em> (25-23, a near win) </em> , Hinata could barely walk, managing to hide his limp through sheer willpower. He cheered half heartedly with the rest of the team, gathered his things and stumbled to the bus, energy drained. He collapsed next to Kageyama in their usual seat and turned to face the window, trying his best to steady his breathing. <em> I’ll get my leg looked at when we get back to Karasuno. </em></p><p>On the seat next to him, Kageyama glared at him out of the corner of his eye. He reached out to flick Hinata on the back of his head. “Boke. What’s wrong with you?” he asked loudly.</p><p>Hinata turned around, face flushed with pain. “Nothing, Kageyama,” he squeaked. He tried to turn back to the window, but Kageyama grabbed his arm, stopping him.</p><p>“What did you do this time, boke?” Kageyama asked him roughly, shaking his wrist in his grasp. Hinata’s face twisted in pain, and Kageyama immediately let go. “What’s wrong?”</p><p>The whole team was looking at them now, staring openly. Hinata shifted in his seat uncomfortably before hissing in pain again. “Nothing! It’s nothing!” His voice came out with a high squeak, cracking with every word.</p><p>Sugawara’s voice called out, his voice cutting through the air sharply. “Hinata, what’s on your leg?”</p><p>He tried tucking his foot behind the other one, but Kageyama was faster and grabbed his knee, stopping him from moving. Sharp inhales were heard through the bus as they got a look at Hinata’s ankle.</p><p>The whole thing was an ugly shade of purple, swollen to the size of a grapefruit with the skin puffing around his joint. Green bruises lined his foot, and everytime he moved, pain raced up his leg like poison.</p><p>Kageyama brought his hand down on the seat loudly, looking like he wanted to slap Hinata in the face but had to restrain himself. “Boke! Were you playing on a sprained ankle? How stupid can you get?” The other members of the team murmured their agreement, and Hinata knew he was trapped.</p><p>Despite his harsh words, Hinata could tell Kageyama was worried about him. He squirmed around and looked away from the team’s eyes, trying to find the right words. “You guys were counting on me,” he said finally. “I couldn’t let you down. I had to be better.”</p><p>Kageyama’s glare softened and he rolled his eyes, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. “You’ve already done enough for the team. Next time, why don’t you try doing something for you?”</p><p>Hinata looked up at him, eyes shining. “I will,” he said, and he really meant it.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>haha i hate this one, i wrote it waaay back in the beginning of september</p></blockquote></div></div>
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